The new measures will empower the Office of the eSafety Commissioner to quickly remove offending images published without consent and take action to prevent further sharing. This will address the main concern of victims which is the rapid removal of images, in a timely, easy and effective way without causing further distress.

The civil penalty regime complements existing Commonwealth, state and territory laws and the Office of the eSafety Commissioner’s world-first online complaints portal pilot which allows victims of image-based abuse to report offences and provides practical information and resources.

The Bill was informed by public consultations held earlier in the year and feedback from key stakeholders including victims, law enforcement agencies, health and community organisations, content service providers, schools and education departments.